What Dreams Are Made Of—Role Of Ideology In Marriage And Divorce

10.1163/ej.9789004171619.i-176.23

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Chapter Summary

This chapter focuses on the role ideologies play in sustaining marriages. The focus is on two sets of ideologiesone governing gender roles and the other, parenthood. Specifically, the chapter examines the effects of gender ideology and its implications on the division of domestic labour. The discourse throws light on the power of ideologies in policing social behaviour, including how one can do marriage. The gender roles divide was accentuated with the rise of industrialization and capitalism when the mode of production was shifted from the home to the factories. The unequal distribution of domestic work that favours husbands and the overload on wives is accentuated when the couple enters parenthood. The presence of children in a marriage can either serve to solidify the bond between the parents, or act as a catalyst to deteriorating relations between husband and wife when the stressors of parenthood step in.